Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Broken Fate-Rising to the Dream

Self-Release/Independent2012

Formed in 2007 by Tobias John Bänteli (vocals and guitars) and Alessandro de Cicco (drums), the Swiss act known as Broken Fate offer up their latest release, the "Rising to the Dream" EP. Produced by V.O. Pulver at "Little
Creek" studio in Gelterkinden (CH), the recording's intro, the ("Ride The Lightning"/"Master Of Puppets") Metallica-like "Rise", sets the mood early on for what ends up being a strong and remarkably memorable release. Guitarist/backing-vocalist Roman Leeser and bassist Dario Stutz (bass) round out this Swiss four-piece out and with a new album slated for release in 2014 this EP is a great way to get acquainted with what just might end up being your new favorite metal band! Now wait, hear me out as I realize that's a pretty bold statement! When you first look at Broken Fate and hear that they would be considered "modern metal" most people would stop there. You'd be missing out though as the only thing really modern about this four-piece is their approach to song-writing. I'll cover that a bit further down, but for now let's see where these gentlemen started out. Early on the group covered songs from the likes of Metallica, Nickelback and Fear Factory, but with others influences such as Slipknot, Killswitch Engage Anthrax, Testament, Shinedown, Pantera and Devildriver serving as the building blocks to Broken Fate's sound this is one "modern metal band" that sure seems as if it knows what it's doing. Don't stress about the Nickleback and Shinedown reference points as Broken Fate cranks out high-velocity thrash metal more then anything else. Those thrash influences (Metallica, Anthrax and Testament) obviously make for one release that easily tips the scales towards the heavier side of things and, other then "Fate", I'd wager that "Rising to the Dream" would find itself sitting quite comfortably in most modern day thrash collections. If you didn't know about the Nickleback covers or the Shinedown influence, and if you didn't play someone the cut "Fate" (which, despite leaning more towards a heavier version of modern rock radio is actually a pretty cool tune!), then you could almost chalk this one up as simply modern thrash and no one would be the wiser. The interesting thing is that the technical aspects of this EP showcase a band that seems well-versed in "And Justice For All..." era Metallica, or even one that remembers how sweet old Metallica and Megadeth albums used to be when the melodic solos would kick in, while the actual "modern metal" is only modern because (as previously mentioned) it adapts the appeal of (later period) hard rock and heavy metal song-writing towards it's own goals. The thrash here is actually forged from the playbooks of more modern hard rock and heavy metal acts which means that Broken Fate puts more of an emphasis on creating actual "songs" instead of just crazy and over-the-top moments of frenzy that plague a lot of today's retro-thrashers. With their hearts filled to overflowing with love for the classics (everyone from Metallica to Pantera) the guys in Broken Fate seem as if they assemble their songs as if they are a rock group trapped in the body of a thrash band! So these cuts actually rock! It might all sound strange on paper, but Broken Fate are the best of both words. They are heavy and menacing with a thrash sound right out of the mid-to-late eighties/early nineties while they also incorporate modern radio rock better ideas and the greatness of older hard rock/heavy metal. Broken Fate is how "modern metal" should sound. This Swiss act is my new drug of choice and I'll be keeping an eye out for upcoming new album!

"So, in closing, fuck you METAL MARK. Fuck you, fuck Lynch Mob, and fuck your shitty website!”
“I don't know who this METAL MARK is, but I know better than to waste my time checking out anything else written by this asshole”
-Mike